Béjart, Maurice

Béjart, Maurice, 1927–, French ballet dancer and opera director. After studying in Marseilles, Paris, and London, he danced and choreographed for the Royal Swedish Ballet and the Ballets de l'Étoile before forming his own company in 1957. He choreographed (1959–87) for his Ballet of the 20th Century, which he established in Brussels but moved to Lausanne in 1987. That same year he became director of the Béjart Ballet. In keeping with European tradition, he emphasizes content over innovation in movement. Many of his themes are academic, cultural, or biographical in content; he has been influenced by mysticism, and East Asian influences can be detected throughout his dances. His expressionist style incorporates jazz and avant-garde music, nontraditional dance forms, e.g., acrobatics, and unusual settings. Among his works are Symphony for a Lonely Man, Mass for the Present Time, Tannhäuser, and Le Flûte enchantée.

Bibliography

See C. Masson, Béjart by Béjart (tr. 1980).

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Béjart, Maurice

 orig. Maurice-Jean Berger

(born Jan. 1, 1927, Marseille, France—died Nov. 22, 2007, Lausanne, Switz.) French-born Belgian dancer, choreographer, and opera director. He studied in Paris, then toured with various companies before founding his own, Les Ballets de l'Étoile (later Ballet Théâtre de Maurice Béjart), in Paris in 1954. In 1959 it moved to Brussels; renamed the Ballet of the Twentieth Century, it became one of the world's foremost troupes. His productions have been noted for reworking tradition in unusual and often controversial ways. Since 1961 he has also worked in opera, staging Tales of Hoffmann and Berlioz's Damnation of Faust, among other works. In 1987 the company moved to Switzerland and took the new name Béjart Ballet Lausanne.